Dennis the Menace gets his marching orders

THE BEANO’s number one prankster has been put on the bill at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo with organisers hoping he’ll cause a bit of mischief.

The red and black jumper wearing Dennis the Menace will feature throughout the festival doing BMX stunts to help wow the 220,000 strong audience expected to attend.

Both he and Minnie the Minx will appear at Edinburgh Castle’s esplanade in connection with their comic’s publishers, DC Thomson, who are based in Dundee.

Could Dennis the Menace be joining regular troops on the Esplanade?

The artists behind The Beano, The Broons and Oor Wullie have also created a commemorative poster for the Tattoo that will be distributed with the event’s programme.

Tattoo producer Brigadier David Alfrey who is in charge for the first time this year, says that comic characters were needed in order to keep the festival exciting and unpredictable.

He said: “We’re very excited that Dennis the Menace and Minnie will be coming to the show to entertain our audience., although we can’t say too much about what they’ll be up to on the night. People will have to keep a close eye out for them.

“I’ve always been a fan of The Beano. It’s such an institution and i can even remember reading it overseas when i was in the Army.

“People might find it a bit surprising we’re doing something like this but all the traditional elements of the tattoo will still be there.”

Brigadier Alfrey is also encouraging festival-goers to “bling up” for the special celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

He added: “We want the whole audience to be sparkling, whether it is digging out old tiaras at home, wearing a sparkly outfit or creating a special diamond-themed costume for the night, we want people to use their imagination before they come along.”

John-Paul Murphy, head of marketing at DC Thomson, believes the involvement of the comic that started back in 1938 was a “perfect fit”.

He said: “Our comic characters and the Tattoo are truly iconic and have stood the test of time.

“When David told us of the mischief-making plans for this year it seemed a perfect fit with Dennis and Minnie and we were pleased to join forces.”

Another animation related companion to the festival will be a six-minute long musical excerpt from the new Disney-Pixar film Brave.

The composers of the music, Patrick Doyle and James Sherman, have been working with organisers so that some of the score can be adapted to be played by the pipes and drums.

The military-comic hook up follows in the wake of Edinburgh Zoo’s pandas, Yang Guang and Tian Tian, appearing in the comic.

Other famous guests to the pages of The Beano include Will and Kate, Barack Obama, Simon Cowell and British tennis legend Andy Murray.

1 COMMENT

I was so looking forward to this years Tattoo, (last year was a disaster with torrential rain) but after reading this article about the programme for this years Tattoo, I’m not so sure I want to go now. This fantastic event does not need an injection of the’ exciting and unpredictable’ as this years organiser seems to think – sounds like it is being turned into a cheap side show. Mrs EMCW